Menu

Anti-Obama Signs

After collecting several images from the tea bag protests over the last month or so, I decided it was important to just have a stand alone archive of images documenting the racism, sexism, and homophobia present at many of these rallies. I’ve broken the images into themes, and will likely use some to illustrate posts on the issue on the blog as well as else where. Citations follow the image where available. (some images come from non-rally sources and are marked)

Share this:

Like this:

42 thoughts on “Anti-Obama Signs”

What a bunch of sick, ignorant [edit by blog owner] these protesters are. Was Glenn Beck , [edit by blog owner] hiding under their zippers? I am ashamed of these people. It makes me want, more than ever to work hard for my president who is NOT their president. Just a bunch of racist who can’t gewt over the fact that 53% of Americans, over 60 million voted for him. God Bless My President

welcome to the blog Elaine. we have a name calling/language ToS here so sorry abt the edit. I think the important thing to remember is that 4 the next 4 years he is everyone’s president & he is trying to fix the mess left behind by the republican administration the came before.

You are living in LA LA LAND…..Too dumb to see the COMMUNIST handwriting on the wall. You Liberals have to play the race card because you know the CONSERVATIVES have ALL the FACTS and LOGIC. It must really annoy you that the right wingers are so successful while you wait for yet another hand out as a deadbeat does.

Lynn… I guess if serving in the USMC (4 yrs); working for the same employer for 34+ years (110k +/yr); married to the same dear woman for 38 yrs; Deacon in my church, etc… makes me a Liberal, then ALL Liberals should be so proud! The Tea party makes me work even harder to re-elect President Obama. Sure, not everything is as bright and cheerful as we’d like to see, but I can’t see one thing that this President has done to the detriment of our Country. I am proud to see him as the Commander in Chief and LEADER of the Free World. GOD BLESS OBAMA!!!

Elaine, not all of the signs were sick. But I will admit some of them were, and some just distasteful. The problem with these rallies is that the [edited by blog author] show up and make the real concerned citizen who are worried about the spending and too much govt , well it makes them look bad too. It happens in “any” kind of rally, even those that are supposed to be for fun, like parades and festivals.

welcome to the blog Kathy. I think we must look at both common behavior and overarching patterns. I doubt ppl feel emboldened to show up at every day parades en masse with gun threats or to sell pre-made gun threat posters on the internet in advance of the event for instance but there are probably ppl thinking violent thoughts in one or more parade crowds.

I could not have imagined people would actually make such offensive, outrageous, and incredibly idiotic signs unless I had seen these pictures. I’m white, but I would be scared to stand near them.

I recently saw a link to a UTube video with an outraged comment that schoolchildren were being forced to sing the praises of Barack Obama, comparing it to Hitler Youth. I watched the video, and it was young children rapping about how the color of your skin doesn’t matter because all people are equal. It is scary how anyone could connect this, or Obama, with Hitler.

thank you very much for alerting us to the original image. The image here is clearly a digitally modified version of your image that was specifically done for the N. American elections. It has been used repeatedly in anti-Obama meetings across the country and appears w/out credit to the person who modified it or to your original in various places on the internet.

I would be happy to put a credited original version on the site as a counterpoint if you’d like.

I myself am Australian and i have been very interested in American politics ever since i learned that in the USA healthcare is nothing short of a joke.. It not only disgusts me the way Americans have been used for so long i also have little sympathy at the same time.. Watching as close as i can in the lead up to the passing of the bill, the new Healthcare system i was speechless at the ignorance of some of the American people ?? Scared of change ?? What is better paying insurance companies that are hired to try as hard as they can to take your money and not have ligitimate claims go ahead yet you have paid your hard earned money to this fund?? Our health system is realistic and not a scam. I myself have private health and it saved me thousands on orthadontics and the rest.. A small payment monthly and i have already had braces valued at $6000 and i have all up only paid $100.00 and that includes all the extra visit to maintain this. Also it is free to see the doctor and i can be seen the day i make my appointment?? This week i have seen protesters with signs saying, ” you cant control my money !! What are you scared of?? You have a President that is bold enough to tackle this issue and it is about time.. I am forever hearing about the horrific stories of insurance companies turning the unwell away and then i see the negativity surrounding the new Reform ?? Wake up !!!! Embrace this.. Obama is a very special man and America will change and move forward for the better from this….

It’s so incredibly obvious that among all those thousands and thousands of tea-party protesters trying to actually save what minute bits of LIBERTY and FREEDOM that still exist and preserve our way of life, i would have to guess that “maybe” theres a whoppin 10% of possible racist, sexist, and homophobic attitude present and on display(going from the pics you have collected). But in all honesty i dont see those things(are we looking at the same pics?). And i will confess that i havnt stopped and taken a good long look at “every” single pic you have in your collection here, i mostly just skimmed through a good majority of em. Look people i know that all of those things(and much more im sure) exist in the movement but they exist everywhere in our day to day lives..its just a fact of life that will “always” be that way period. Its just like you seeing all of the racism, sexism, and homophobia and at the same time i am able to see people that will go to great lengths in their search for anything they can find that can possibly be perceived and/or translated as racist, sexist, and homophobic. Just turn the sensitivity levels down abit on your radar you will likely have a somewhat different perception and possibly understanding of whats actually happening.

And besides, the ones we ALL should be standing united against are those narcissistic bunch of ignorant ideologues that are doing everything in their power to bring down the single last provider and defender of FREEDOM and LIBERTY that still stands defiant against the constant onslaught of those who wish to wipe us off the face of the planet. I say this with the utmost seriousness and concern, EVERYTHING and i do mean EVERYTHING that set us apart from the rest of the world, EVERYTHING that made this republic the absolute greatest in history, EVERYTHING that allows people like us(YOU AND ME) to do what were all doing right now, choosing and expressing our concerns and viewpoints as well as the ability to actually change any aspect of our lives that we are not happy with, ALL of these things which we all take for granted every day, now hangs by a relatively thin thread. It can and will be taken away from us never to be seen or heard of ever again, if WE dont WAKE UP and fight with every last fiber of our beings to protect and hold sacred that which matters most, FREEDOM.
You may think that im just another wayy over the top looney but stop and think about it seriously for a few moments, then make your decision.
But then again maybe i am just some internet kook doin what i do best, bein a kook.

despite the language that you used as your email, name, and in this post (all of which have been edited out per blog policy) I have approved your comment as an alternative viewpoint in this thread.

I think the pics speak for themselves. And I agree with you, freedom is essential, so I’m glad that many ppl participating in this thread know that oppression is a system put in place to benefit the few not an act of nature, so it can be dismantled

Tsk, Tsk, Tsk….The reason many of you don’t understand the signs is because you don’t understand what we Americans are giving up when this administration proceeds to take over 1/6 of our economy by signing the unconstitutional H E L Lth care bill. It’s not about health care…it’s about control. And he’s not done with us. The Tea Party scares you?? Only 983 days left until Obama is out of office…we’lll have a reprieve when the Nov. 2010 elections are over and we, the People will begin to take back this country. Sign me, proud to be from ARIZONA.

thanks for stopping by “we americans” need to chat more often, b/c despite your implication the authors of this blog are as American as you and everyone else in Arizona. Perhaps when you stop projecting your own exclusionary practices on to us and start dealing with your irrational fears, “we americans” can have a country built on equality, community, and care rather than discrimination, racial profiling, and ignorance. I look forward to it.

there is a difference between social and economic conservatism. The social conservatives are crazy bigots a great amount of the time, but there is a real cause for economic concern. I believe that President Obama is going in the wrong direction with his plans for economic recovery. He has never been a businessman, but has instead been a student of theory, and theory is a dangerous way to guide the economy. I believe that there has perhaps been an unfair amount of social conservatism portrayed on your blog because you want to prove your point that tea party protesters are crazy, and that is not true. I am a white bisexual female and a firm advocate for gay rights and equal pay as well as a staunch tea party supporter… it takes all kinds to make this great nation ❤

Grace – this is an archive of actual posters used during Tea Party rallies. If you think archiving real images is “unfair” than that is your choice but please do not put words into my mouth, I never said “tea party protesters are crazy” nor that white bisexuals couldn’t be part of their movement. And the people saying that only certain people count as Americans are in the tea party in this thread not me.

Actually Lincoln freed the slaves, so no one paid for me. If, on the other hand, you are referring to tea party members paying my bills, 1. the funders of the tea party actually don’t support non-corporate welfare and I am not a corporation and 2. I pay my own bills. But thank you for helping prove my point about ill-informed racism in the tea party movement with your comment.

I saw a few mildly racist photos, and a lot that state a position you simply don’t agree with.

Presumably, you voted for Obama. What has he done that you’re proud of? Steal the remains of GM and hand it to the Union that destroyed it? Commit this country to decades of deficit and insolvency? Trample our relationship with the UK? Extend economic problems by creating red tape for small businesses?

Did you vote for him because he said he’d end our occupation of Iraq and Afghanistan? Because he said he would show transparency in his activities? Because the world would love America? Because he would fix the economy? Has he done any of those things?

And before you blame Bush – It’s been nearly two years. That ship has sailed. Be honest with yourself. You and the other Obama voters made a mistake, you handed the country to a neophyte pretender – admit it. Yes, it’s the Republicans’ fault. They didn’t give you a better option. And it would have been easy.

The FABRIC of America is being RIPPED APART by barry soetoro (aka barrack HUSSEIN MOHAMMED obama) and his THUG COMRADES of the LIBERAL COMMUNIST DEMONCRAT PARTY !!!

Race has NOTHING TO DO WITH IT !!! There are MORE THAN A FEW “WHITE” people who belong to the LIBERAL COMMUNIST DEMONCRAT PARTY who are hell bent on turning the American DEMOCRACY into a LIBERAL COMMUNIST DEMONCRAT PARTY RUN COMMUNIST STATE !!!

Once a “so-called” American President OFFICIALLY sticks his hands into a PRIVATE SECTOR company like the American CAR COMPANIES he has started towards making that country COMMUNIST !!!!

Once a “so-called” American President spends TRILLIONS of TAX PAYERS MONEY without the PEOPLE getting a chance to even glance at the bill that has FLEECED their ECONOMY he has started towards making that country COMMUNIST !!!!

Once a “so-called” American President and his COMRADES makes sure that ONLY HIS LIBERAL COMMUNIST DEMONCRAT PARTY gets to CREATE and VOTE on ALL BiLLS BY THEM SELVES he has started towards making that country COMMUNIST !!!!

IMPEACH OBAMA NOW & MAKE THE LIBERAL COMMUNIST DEMONCRAT PARTY members JOBLESS IN NOVEMBER !!!!

GOD BLESS AMERICA !!!

Once We Had JFK, Johny Cash & Bod Hope

NOW

We Have OBAMA, NO CASH & NO HOPE !!!

P.S….barry Soetoro (aka barrack HUSSEIN MOHAMMED obama) is NOT a NATURAL BORN American Citizen !!!!

thanks for stopping by Doug, comments like yours say everything I think my readers need to hear about the Tea Party Movement better than anything I could write myself. Pictures speak louder than words, but words are nice illustrations too.

Hi from Ireland prof susurro. Great post, its an excellent idea to catalogue some of those photos online. They are a very worrying collection of pics tho, and show how insular many people have become in your country. Racism and Homophobia appear to be rampant, and in all honesty, those kinds of racist comments in particular on placards, would not be tolerated over here. Im pretty sure they would be arrested and brought to court for those ‘monkey’ jibes. The only people who would be capable of carrying those kind of messages (racism/homphobia) at a rally in Ireland or the UK would be Nazi & fascist groups, which are very small…. and those gun threats, well… you couldnt get away with that either, and you shouldnt. Its a democratic country, meaning you take up your fight in parliament, or at the ballot boxes, thats how democracy works. Oh, just to clarify, people would not be afriad to carry those messages for fear of being arrested, it’s becuase our thinking has moved on somewhat from that dated outlook. We know we are all just people, full stop, and it’s wrong to make others feel different, because they are not!

Your answers to some of those bigoted commenters were excellent too. I dont think I could be so kind to them. There must surely be something in the water over there when so many people suffer from a lack of intelligence and relativity, either that or your country’s constant barrage of drama is keeping them from being able to think as normal rational peaceful kind people. (inc constant UN-involved ‘international crisis’ which often appear to be politically motivated, particularly to push other stories down the newsreel)

To the commenter who uttered this piece of rubbish “single last provider and defender of FREEDOM and LIBERTY”… that is NOT how the US is percieved in the rest of the World (you know, by the 6.6 billion people which do not live in the US). Your country is a war-mongering presence which is actually THE current greatest threat to World stability. Sadly the US & the West may have had the time in the sun, and in that time, leadership which would have brought about a fair & peaceful World, just did not exist. I hope we all do not rue that opportunity when the East comes to pay us back!

I wish your country luck, because there are many good people over there, sadly they have to share the land with so many closed-minded and bigoted people. & I dont think that Obama is the man to change anything. He has not closed down Guantanamo, or sorted out retribution for those who are directly involved in killing hundreds of thousands of people in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere. Did you know that the US has military installations in 140 countries right now? That will not change under Obama, and that says it all.

Stop giving out about Healthcare costs and start giving out about the costs of your weapons and your armies! The rest of the Western world can rely on a proper health system with access for all, and it should be a norm many moons ago in the US. It should be part of your budget, which appears to be balanced towards corporate powers, not people.

I do think the pendulum has swung far right for many in the U.S. And that also means mistaking support for troops with support for war or lack of public discourse on the military, war, and it’s multiple meanings. And it is nice to hear both an international perspective and one that knows the difference between fascism, socialism, and democracy and Econ systems vs political ones. But I would also say that at least in the 6 counties (northern Ireland) there continues to be issues with ethnic conflict and in Ireland proper with certain anti-immigrant waves, especially in the 90s, that have similarities to some of the issues in our political system though obviously we have different, complex, histories.

For sure, the 6 counties have definitely still got a massive divide between Nationalists and Unionists. Particularly the younger generation, which is worrying, because the so-called ‘terrorist’ groups don’t appear to have the same level of control over them, as they would have done in the past. This has inadvertently lead to racism problems (Africans and Eastern Europeans have suffered badly very recently), but you gotta take into account that that part of the World is only coming out of a long-term war-like situation, and there are groups of ‘heavies’ with time on their hands and lacking a particular mission. And some elements of both sides can be extremely territorial, which may be a reason to attack those from other countries which enter their neighbourhoods (they would attack anyone who is not them basically). It really is complex, and remains an emotive part of the World. Hopefully for not too much longer tho 🙂

On the other hand, the Republic does have some racial tension on the ground too, due to a huge increase in overseas nationals over the past decade and a half, but you would still never see a banner like those you have featured above, even within the most staunch ‘Ireland for the Irish’ folk (Im pretty sure they would be illegal, plus the moral compass of the nation would stop anyone from being that publicly bigoted). Most in the Republic do not think that way anymore (we got terrible finances & lack of jobs to worry about now), and similarly in England, Wales & Scotland, apart from a few isolated hotspots (racial in London & the Midlands, and Catholic/Protestant in parts of Scotland).

Thats a very interesting point you make about the public support for troops, rather than for war itself. I suppose many of those who support the troops believe that it is in the US/World’s best interest to go to war for whatever reasons their government & media are telling them. But, its kinda hard to fathom why anybody would feel that it is ok to go to war in ANY situation. Maybe if the US experienced what the North of Ireland, Palestine, Iraq or Afghanistan (etc) have experienced – war on home turf – the hunger would dissipate and reality would settle in to what war actually means for those who are surrounded by it. And its not just the war itself, it’s the long-term psychological damage which can be done to entire nations. The aftermath can be just as hard as the war itself.

I’m fascinated by the connection you are making between territorial dogma based on existing colonial antagonisms and identified groups spilling out on to other groups for territorial encroachment. I mean writing it out makes me have a “duh” moment and yet I don’t think people really talk about this way in the immigration literature.

It does seem like the whole BNP meets racial targeting in the 80s in Britain has died down, tho living in Hove in the 90s I did still see it’s remnants. I would say your examples definitely highlight cyclicality in nationalist, racist, ethnic conflict pushes as separate and intersecting issues. And we Americans are going through a high point (as in a lot of it) in the cycle.

To answer your question tho: supporting troops means not oppressing, rejecting, or abusing troops for doing what their government asks within reason (ie raping, intentionally bombing civilians, burning down whole neighborhoods still not ok) while supporting war means exactly what it sounds like, if our government declares war then we support the military and it’s effort. Conservatives conflates these things while often voting against funding for veterans benefits or promoting companies that cost cut at the expense of troop safety. Liberals separate them recognizing that government policies that underfund, under equip, or under report sexual violence against female troops are all part of disrespecting troops and that respecting people who are troops doesn’t require respecting the war effort, radicals would go further to point out that supporting our troops means not sending them to unjust and endless wars and they would also point to the exploitation of poor, young, and people of color for the war effort that at the same time is funded by defunding programs that would often give them and their neighbors more choices in life and more equal access to any number of positives in our society.

You know this is totally unbelievable that certain people in this country behave this way, and I’m embarrassed to admit being American. The absolute crack up here is these people are protesting virtually what the Republicans are about. The simple fact here is there is a group of people in this country that cannot stand the fact that there is a Black man in the White House and they are hiding under all these other banners TRYING to hide their blatant Racism. A perfect example of this is the references to “Czars” and that some how President Obama created this concept. Goes to show you how utterly stupid they are as Czars were first created and named by FDR and the fact that George Bush assigned 35 Czars during his Presidency. Even that bonehead Christine O’Donnell stated the very same thing on video…

LOL…and stating “I’m a white girl!” isn’t even a wee bit racist in itself?! Yeah, hypocrite. You feel free to run around worshiping and kissing the rump of a man who seeks nothing less than total control….go on ahead and do that. It won’t help you and it won’t save you. Liberals are a disgrace to the way of life America has defended for centuries. My grandfather stood in the midst of battle, WWII, Battle of the Bulge. My father…Vietnam era veteran….my husband, an honorably discharged veteran with the US Army (all Army, grandfather, father and husband.), deployed to Iraq for a year at a time, over three years total, with his 6 1/2 enlistment on active duty. None of them fought for socialism, treason, communism or a dictatorship. Stop demanding what is NOT yours and that which you did NOT earn. Oh, yeah….”I’m a white girl!” too. And southern. And a mother. And a gun owner. And a Bible reader. And a truck owner. And have a golden retriever…..etc etc etc….above all, I’m an AMERICAN. And conservatives are the ONLY way to go if we wish to return SANITY to D.C. So thanks, Barack, for taking our former AAA credit rating down to an AA….and THEN, another DOWNGRADE, to AA-! Oh yeah, man….he’s doing an awesome job….smh…sad sad little people, liberals are. Want socialism? Move to France….you’ll fit right in, seeing as how their last elected leader IS a socialist.

Aundria, if I am understanding you correctly, what allows you to excuse racism away as North American pride is that you grandfather was in WWII, your father was in Vietnam, and your husband fought in Iraq, you are Southern, a mother, and a “Bible reader”. While I find this logic untenable, let me just say this: If you read this blog, you would know that my grandfather fought in WWII (he fought on the frontlines in some of the worst conditions because that is what they did to black soldiers, and then returned home to segregation and racist military benefits officers), my father is a Vietnam Vet (hospital corpsman who helped put so many people back together after they were torn to bits in the battle field), and I work closely with veterans of both Iraq wars to help them get into and succeed in school. I am also Southern by roots and am “a Bible reader”, and I have raised more than one child. So you say these things are not racist and that you are an infallible judge of what is North American based on your assumptions about war, faith, location and reproductive capacity equating Americanness. And I say, they are racist and by your own standards I too am a real American. By your logic, my interpretation is also infallible.

Thank you for proving my point about how the polarizing racialized and sexualized views of what it means to be “American” on the part of the right leads them down the path of unrelenting ignorance and hate speech. More sadly, it also leads them to miss out on all of our shared histories in the creation and perpetuation of this nation for good and for worse.